


Seperated

by thatdankhammondlover



Category: Richard Hammond - Fandom, The Grand Tour
Genre: Explict, F/M, Light Injuries, NSWF, New York, Road Trip, crash, fluffff, hawt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-19
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2018-11-16 05:44:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11247507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatdankhammondlover/pseuds/thatdankhammondlover
Summary: I am now officially free from exams, I have a 12 week holiday! As a result, I'm back to writing my heart out. I decided to write a longer story which is to be updated at least weekly. Here is a brief explanation of the plot:Hazel (OC) and the boys go on a trip to New York for the next series of The Grand Tour, a major catastrophe occurs, which causes Hazel and Richard to be separated from Jeremy, James and the rest of the crew, having no clue where they are, or where to go. Throughout the story, Hazel and Richard travel different places with only the money they have on them, and have no one but each other to try and be reunited with Jeremy, James and the rest of the crew, throughout the story, OC and Richard become closer and closer, and with no one but themselves to keep them company, their loves for each other grows.I really hope you enjoy this story, I am putting as much effort as I can into this to ensure it is the best quality it can be so you enjoy reading this. Please leave a kudos and comments along the way as I continue to write up the story and tell me what you think, honest feedback is always appreciated!Tumblr and Wattpad as always: @thatdankhammondloverEnjoy!





	1. Chapter 1

“So, what’s the plan then?” Jeremy spoke in an intrigued voice, hoping that at least one of us will come up with some preposterous, perilous idea for the new series.

We sat and pondered around the dark oak table, the four blank, lifeless walls keeping us enclosed in our meeting space. You could call it a prison cell. We had been dumped in for obligating the crime of ‘not coming up with any ideas for our big trip even though we’ve had 2 weeks to think of some’. We were desperate for something, anything. We weren’t to ever come out of that room without at least one idea being discussed amongst us, but our minds were still totally and utterly blank. It was early, 8:37am. Maybe we just need a bit of time to wake up, to get our brains going, maybe an idea will eventually crawl heroically from our head and eventually make a bone shattering journey out of our mouths.

“Shall we come back in the afternoon, when we’ve woken up?” I asked, my hand on the side of my face, gathering a sweat patch as it had been there for so long.

Jeremy’s head lifted unwillingly and he nodded.

James’ hands fiddled with a pen between his stubby fingers, twisting and turning as if he was reaching for some God forsaken way to keep himself occupied as we sat silently. It was so silent, you could hear the contents of the pen rattling around as he played with it.

Richard’s eyes were half open, he blinked slowly and drowsily, staring into the corner of the room, his arm crossed on the table and his head resting in the crook of his arms. The open window behind him invited a slow morning breeze into the room, that wisped his brown, hazel tinged hair - courtesy of the rising sun outside – in different directions.

Jeremy and James rose from their seats for a cigarette break, the chairs made an ear shattering screech as they push them back under the table carelessly and made their way out the door.

I noticed Richard’s eyes drift lazily towards me and I saw the corner of his mouth rise slightly as I made eye contact with him, giving me a weary but meaningful smile, I smiled back.

“Tired are we sweetheart?” I asked.

Richard groaned jokingly which made us both burst out laughing.

“I wish I went to bed earlier to be honest” He said.

I tutted at him playfully.

Mine and Richard’s relationship had always been solid. Never one argument, or disagreement (unless it’s for the camera) We had a special bond with each other that we didn’t have with Jeremy or James, we have our separate, personal bonds with one another, but I couldn’t justify the specialty of mine and Richard’s bond. I go to Jeremy if I really need a proper laugh, I go to James if I need advice on either putting things together or personal problems. But with Richard, I stick with him most of the time, because we can talk and do just about anything and everything together, we were each other’s company most of the time, during or out of work. This only started a few months ago, before I just saw Richard as someone I go to for advice on cars, but now he’s a bit more than that. I always have a laugh with Richard and he’s so fun to be around, what makes it funnier is the fact that Jeremy and James constantly tease us both, acting as if we are “going out” and are “secretly in a relationship” Fact is we’re not, it’s not like that, surely we’re just friends.

Richard sighed and bought his head up.

“I guess we better had get out of this room for a bit” He said pushing his chair in.

“Guess you’re right” I replied, repeating Richard’s actions.

We walked towards the door, Richard doing his usual gentlemen’s gesture and opening the door for me to go through first. We strolled gently through the office quarters, or as we say, ‘where all the magic happens’. Editing, sound, music, filming, voice overs, it all happens here, where our works of art are all put together as one. They label us as the stars of the show, but no one could determine the amount of work these guys do for us, it’s immense. We entered our office area and from there we walked out the backdoor. Richard pulled out his vape and took a long blow from it, the vapour pouring out of his mouth and into the air, I did my usual guessing game, and I took a long sniff.

“Hmm… I’m guessing orange flavoured today?” I asked.

“Yes, and something else in it too” Richard took another puff but this time blew in my direction. I sniffed again.

“Chocolate orange?” I asked.

“Correct!” He replied with a hint of enthusiasm in his voice.

I took mine out of my back pocket and took a puff.

“Your turn, what do you think I have today?” I asked.

As Richard sniffed he pondered for a while.

“I will guess… blueberry” He said.

“Well done!” I said, giggling slightly.

“We’re getting better and better” Richard giggled back.

“I love these things, they really cut the craving don’t they?” I asked trying to spark up conversation.

“They do, I haven’t touched a cigarette in nearly a year now, though I still get the craving this is what these are for” He said.

“Guess you could say we’re doing bloody good aren’t we?” I laughed and Richard laughed with me.

“Yes, yes we most certainly are” He said as he put an arm around me.

Just a few seconds later May and Clarkson joined us outside.

“Aww look James he has an arm around her, when will you two give it up already and tell us you’re really going out?” Jeremy said.

“Pipe down Jeremy, ever heard of friendly gestures?” I said.

“I don’t consider that as a friendly gesture” He chuckled.

“Well we do” Richard said as he removed his arm and we turned to face them.

“So, any bright ideas guys?” Jeremy asked.

“Oh bloody hell not this again” James huffed annoyingly.

“Well we need something, where do we go that we’ve never been before?” Jeremy said.

“We’ve been practically everywhere” Richard said.

Jeremy suddenly had a brain wave.

“Hazel where is it that you said you’ve always wanted to go?” Jeremy said.

“New York?” I replied.

“New York! That’s it!” Jeremy said enthusiastically.

“Of course!” Richard said. “Oh it would be wonderful!”

James smile started to creep up. “I like it, good idea”

“Well then, New York it is!” Jeremy said as he opened the back door and quickly walked through, presumably to go and talk to Andy about it.

James followed leaving me and Richard alone again.

“New York aye? Forgot you always wanted to go there” Richard said.

“Well bloody glad I do otherwise I would have never come up with the idea in the first place” I chuckled.

“Well I’m glad you mentioned it, I would love to go there” Richard smiled at me dreamily. “We best go back in anyway, Andy will want a meeting with us”

I nodded and I followed Richard back into the office.

 

Sure enough Andy did want a meeting with us to discuss our trip. We made our way through the various office blocks and reached the meeting room where Jeremy, James and Andy were sat. Me and Richard walked in and took our seats, ready and raring to go to get this trip sorted. Andy agreed that New York would be the perfect place to go and we discussed between us what the ‘theme’ would be in terms of car choice.

“Well it’s America, so muscle cars?” Richard asked hopefully.

“Hammond don’t even start, no muscle cars” Jeremy said sternly.

“How about we can have what we want but it has to be America related, so Hammond doesn’t mope about the whole trip because he wanted a muscle car” James suggested.

Richard nodded happily, Jeremy rolled his eyes but agreed and I agreed with them.

“Whatever you think is best guys, I think it will work” Andy said as he scrawled several words into his notebook furiously.

“Is that it then, are we sorted?” I asked.

“Well yes, all we need to do is you need to decide your cars, we’ll book hotels, get the challenges ready, get the scripts written up and it will all be ready to go” Andy said with an excited smile. “Now we have finally decided on this, you can go home now guys”

We stood up pushing our chairs in and we made our way out the door to our offices. I walked lazily through the glass door to my office and slumped in my chair turning my computer on. I scrolled through several emails until I heard someone walk in.

“You not going home yet?” Richard said standing by the door with his canvas bag over his shoulder, his hand grasping the strap, the other hand holding the door open.

“I was just going to answer these emails then go” I said.

“Well in that case I shall stay until you go” Richard left the door to close itself and walked over to my desk, grabbing a chair and sitting next to me.

“Why would you wait for me though? I might be a while yet” I chuckled.

“I will wait an eternity if that’s what it takes to prove how much of a good friend and gentleman I am waiting for my best friend to finish her emails before she goes because I wouldn’t let a women walk to her car by herself at this time of day or anytime of day in fact because then that would just be rude wouldn’t it?” He raised an eyebrow in my direction.

“Oh Richard, you’re such a darling” I said as I carried on typing.

“Hmm, I am also… Handsome? Dashing? And my favourite person in the whole world? Hazel stop, you’re too nice” He said and I laughed in response.

“You keep telling yourself that” I joked.

 

After about half an hour of typing, a few minutes of conversation and cups of tea, I was finally finished with my emails and prepared myself for my journey home. Richard as ever, walked with me, he always does, never fails to. I’m usually the one to finish late but when Richard is working I wait for him too as not only a force of habit but because I care for him too, I would feel guilty if he waits for me to finish near enough every day to walk me to my car but I didn’t do the same.

By the time we walked out of the building, the sun was setting, it was 6:09pm and the sky was a vibrant mixture of reds, pinks, oranges and pale blues, it was truly gorgeous.

“Nights like these with scenes like this one make me want to just sit on top of a hill and watch the sun go down, I love it” I said as we studied the sky.

“We should do it one day! I would love it!” Richard said.

“Good idea!” I replied.

We walked onwards to my car, and I did my usual ‘thanking Richard for a wonderful day and I would see him later’ goodbye.

“Are we here tomorrow morning?” He asked.

“Yep, got to get choosing our cars haven’t we?” I said.

“Of course yes, right I’ll see you tomorrow then” Richard said.

“See you then!” I said.

Richard stepped to walk away and then stopped.

“Erm Hazel, can I ask you something?” He said.

“Yeah sure” I replied as I opened my door.

“Seems as it’s a two person job I was wondering if you could help me with one of my bikes at home tomorrow night after we finish, it’s been broken for a while and I seriously need to fix it, that bike is my heart and soul” He laughed nervously, as if he was asking me out on a date.

“Yes of course that’s fine Richard, I would love to” I said.

“Thank you so much” He said as he put an arm around me to hug me.

“Come here you” I said, wrapping my arms around his neck and giving him a proper hug.

His hands were at first slightly unsure of where to put themselves, first they were on my back, then on my lower back and eventually ended up on my waist as he then relaxed into the hug and squeezed me back. His chin rested on my shoulder comfortably, and I buried my face into his shoulder. We pulled away eventually.

“Goodnight then sweetheart” Richard said.

Richard then leaned forward and gave me a brief kiss on the cheek.

What?.......

“Goodnight Richard darling” I said as he walked to his car.

I stepped into my car, and closed the door.

‘He’s never done that before…’ I thought. ‘I mean he’s kissed me on the cheek plenty of times, but it’s usually at special occasions, it’s quite rare, so why did he do it then?’

Nevertheless, it felt quite nice. No, it felt amazing.

So many questions were streaming through my head,

Why did he kiss me?

What for?

Why now?

What does this mean?

I told myself to calm. It was a friendly gesture, nothing more, it’s what good friends do, even so he was also appricietive for me agreeing to help him with his bike tomorrow night. Oh God. I’ve got to go over to HIS house tomorrow night, to help with HIS bike…

I wouldn’t be able to contain myself, I will ask the question because curiosity runs through my veins.

‘Just don’t ask the question dammit… don’t make things awkward… it was a FRIENDLY GESTURE’

I repeated ‘friendly gesture’ to myself the whole way back to my house, convincing myself that it truly was, because it was.

But something that wouldn’t leave my head?...

It felt amazing.

I started to daydream.

‘His lips. Damn those soft lips, on my own cheek, I wonder what it would feel like if they were on mine?’

‘Hazel?! Dammit girl what are these butterfly feelings in your stomach all of a sudden when you’re thinking about that?’

My mind only went even more out of control.

‘His hair, his smile, pearly white teeth, his gorgeous brown eyes, his sense of style…’

I looked towards the photo of me and Richard that stood proudly on my mantelpiece, I picked it up and studied all of Richards perfect features.

‘Damn Hazel. You’ve fallen, and you’ve fallen hard’

I’m in love.


	2. Chapter 2

I awoke the next day bright and early, quickly brushing on some makeup, choosing a good outfit to wear. However, it wasn’t necessarily that easy. I kept debating what to wear and I kept messing around with my hair to try and model it into an acceptable style for my liking. I had always given a serious approach to my appearance, I did care highly of what I looked like, but it usually wasn’t this difficult to try and figure out what to look like. When I finished with my hair, I retreated to the wardrobe and tried to find a suitable outfit. I held up various jeans, t-shirts and jackets but could never be satisfied with what I had there. I pondered for a long while and I then eventually decided to wear black skinny jeans, a white t-shirt and my black blazer with my converse included.

I straightened myself up and muttered to myself as I stood in the mirror.

“Look at you, trying to look good for Richard”

I tried to convince myself that’s not the reason why I’ve been debating my appearance all morning, but it was probably true, I was just oblivious to it.

I went downstairs with my usual bag hanging on my shoulder, and I dumped it next to the door as I dragged myself to the kitchen. Pulling my phone out my back pocket, I scrolled through Twitter, Drivetribe and messages off fans and other friends, this was my daily morning routine. I looked up and I realised the time, so I swiftly placed my phone back in my pocket, I grabbed a drink out of the fridge and placed it in my bag by the door. I took my car keys from the table, placed my bag over my shoulder and made my way out the door.

As usual I’m met with my car parked neatly on the driveway, sparkling clean. I drive my beloved 1960’s Mustang that my grandfather passed down to me before he died. He had kept it in such good condition, he bought it off his friend, and he spent most of his life restoring it. I made a promise that I will keep it the way he left it, and of course, he kept it tucked away in his garage, so clean that it looked like it had just come out of the factory again. I use this car for my daily run to work, and strangely, it’s stupidly reliable, my grandfather must have really worked hard on this to make it this relied upon.

When I arrived at the office, I parked in my usual space between Richard and James’ car, I grabbed my bag from the passenger seat and I made my way inside. I was met with Jeremy standing at the front desk, I gave him a smile and he smiled back.

“Morning sweetheart you okay?” He asked.

“Morning dear, I’m good thank you how about you?” I replied.

“I’m great thanks I’m just stood waiting for Ang to come back with the bloody invoices, the other two are waiting for you upstairs, they want advice on which car to get for the trip” Jeremy continued.

“Oh I was expecting that, they always want my advice don’t they?” I giggled.

Jeremy let out a chuckle and we let each other get on with what we were doing.

I walked upstairs and into my office, dumping my bag on my desk, I started up my computer and made my way to find the other two. They were sat and James’ office, James on his computer and Richard sat in a chair with a laptop on his lap and papers scrawled over the table.

“Morning Hazel darling” Richard said with a smile on his face.

My stomach flipped.

“Morning Richard and morning to you too James” I said, returning Richard a smile while James’ eyes were glued to the screen.

“Morning Hazel, could you come here and help me a sec?” He asked politely.

“Sure” I said as I made my way behind James’ desk.

James had a few cars saved in his tabs and he showed each one to me, he asked me which I recommended for the trip.

“Hmm I would say based upon your personality as well as the actual car performance I would go with the Austin” I said.

“I was thinking the same thing so I’m glad you said that, thank you for your help” He smiled as he started to fiddle with papers on his desk.

“Could I also have your help?” Richard asked.

I agreed, so I took a chair and sat close to him. Sitting close to him was a big mistake. We were sat so close sat our arms were touching, and it made breath hitch in my throat when our legs were touching too. Richard did near enough the same as James, bringing up cars he had shortlisted and asking which one I would recommend he got. He had the decision between a dodge challenger or a Mustang Shelby GT500. I had always wanted a Shelby GT500.

“Get the Mustang!” I said. “It’s gorgeous, it also has better performance than the challenger, you would defiantly win in a race between the others with that thing!”

“You’re so right, I shall get this then” Richard said happily. “I will also let you have a go because that’s what you really want isn’t it?”

“Oh really? You’re offering that’s so lovely thank you! In truth I’ve always wanted to drive one, I won’t lie to you” I said.

Richard giggled and continued with the purchase.

“I’ll be right back, I will need help on deciding too” I said as I want to get my laptop.

I returned back to the office with my laptop and sat next to Richard again. Once I had the internet up, I started to search for cars I could have. Me and Richard debated for over an hour which car I should get, I wanted a Mustang, but Richard already had one, so I was going to have to search for alternative ideas. We had shortlisted a Dodge challenger SRT hellcat and I also found a Chevrolet Camaro.

“Get the hellcat, it’s a sexy thing that is” Richard said. That line made my stomach flip a thousand times.

‘Get a hold of yourself Hazel’ I thought to myself.

“It really is isn’t it, I would love to floor it in a tunnel” I said.

Richard then made a deep groaning sound, clear that he was becoming uncomfortable in his trousers. If it was in the middle of Autumn then why was I sweating? Richard making that noise, that’s what. I tried to snap out of it and act natural.

“Richard!” I said laughing.

“What?! It sounds so good in a tunnel, god if you keep doing that on the trip something bad will happen I swear” He giggled.

“Oh my days Richard you do realise you’re getting horny over a car right?” I asked rather embarrassingly.

“Don’t tell me you’re not the same with a Mustang…” He raised an eyebrow.

I thought for a moment, a guilty look on my face.

“See? I’m not the only one!” He said triumphantly.

“Sometimes I hate you Mr Hammond” I said jokingly. I said that because I was rather annoyed with becoming uncomfortable myself because Richard was talking about how horny he was over the Hellcat. Damn I need to stop with this, he’s your FRIEND.

‘But would a friend kiss you on the cheek?’

Now I was contradicting myself which made me get even more annoyed.

Once we had finished, I started the payment process and soon all of our cars were paid for and ready for the trip. Exciting times ahead indeed.

 

We all had another meeting with Andy and a few more of the crew to discuss the trip, possible implications, where we will go, what we will do, challenges, race tracks, etcetera. The meeting was a long process, but somehow, I was fully entertained. What did I do? I stared at Richard next to me the whole damn time. Soon the meeting was coming to an end.

“So guys, we will be leaving next week on Monday, the tickets, hotels and cars are booked, we just need a few more adjustments before then and we’ll be ready to go, we don’t need to see you until then so, off you guys go home and we’ll see you packed and ready on Monday!” Andy finished off.

We all nodded with agreement and we left the meeting room. After another day well spent, we decided to head off home soon enough after the meeting finished. As usual Richard came into my office as I was packing up my things and we headed out into the car park together.

“All ready to come over tonight then?” Richard asked.

Shit, I forgot about that.

“Yeah sure I can’t wait to get going on the bike!” I said in my best ‘oh yeah I can’t wait, I defiantly didn’t forget about this’ voice.

When we reached our cars Richard studied my Mustang for a moment.

“It’s a beautiful thing, you keep it in such good condition” He said.

“I know, I made the promise to my grandfather that I would keep it that way, but it’s not just because I have to, I want to, I’ve always dreamt of owning a Mustang and so I treasure it, it’s my baby” I said happily.

Richard placed an arm around me.

“You are doing him so proud you know, not just because of the car, but also because have grown into a beautiful, intelligent, fun-loving woman too, he loves you for that I’m sure more than the car” Richard said.

My eyes started to well up with tears, I was so touched by what Richard said. I wrapped my arms around him gratefully.

“Thank you Richard, that is so sweet of you” I said, choking back tears. Realising this Richard rubbed my back comfortingly and absent-mindedly kissed my forehead.

At this point I wasn’t going to argue with myself if the kiss was friendly or not, all I cared about was what Richard said and the fact that I am stood in his arms in comfort. When I calmed down, we pulled away and we smiled at each other.

“So, we going in your car then?” Richard asked. “I’ll leave mine and get it another day”

“As you wish Hammond” I said as we parted and got into the car.

The journey to Richard’s house is quite lengthy, he lives nearly 200 miles away, nevertheless, I would be stuck in the car with Richard, so I was feeling good about the long journey. Throughout the journey we talked about the trip to New York, sang along to the music on the radio and told stories of what we did as a kid. We stopped for a McDonalds halfway through for our dinner as it was already fast approaching 6:00pm and we knew we wouldn’t have time to cook when we got to Richard’s. The rest of the journey consisted of Richard telling me to floor the car at certain places, and we had a whale of a time blasting through the streets and down motorways. When we approached a tunnel, my foot rested flat on the accelerator, the noise coming from the 3.5 litre engine purring through the dark depths of the open space.

Richard had a hard time trying to hide the fact that the noise was turning him on immensely.

“What is it with you and tunnels?” I laughed.

“It sounds glorious!” Richard said excitedly.

 

Eventually at about 8:00pm we reached Richard’s home, I parked the car and we leaped out eagerly.

“Right, let’s get this bike fixed then!” Said Richard as he opened the doors to his barn full of a various collection of bikes.

Richard went to the right side and wheeled out his Vincent Black Shadow. Oh lord.

“Basically, the starter is broken, and I would love to fit an electric one in the process because well… I’m short so… I can’t really start it well…” He said.

I had to giggle at his helplessness.

“Don’t worry, I understand” I said as I took my blazer off and placed it to one side.

For the remainder of the night, me and Richard got our hands greasy and messed about trying to fix the bike. Richard had already bought an electric starter to put onto it, so when we fixed the starter itself, we fiddled with electrics and other components to get the electric starter fixed on. We worked until 12:10am and the bike was finally finished, I didn’t care what time it was, I hated leaving things unfinished.

“So glad it’s done, thank you for fixing it Hazel I really appreciate it” Richard said as he wiped his hands with a cloth and threw it in my direction.

“It wasn’t just me, you fixed it too you know, but thank you” I smiled.

Richard checked his watch.

“Bloody hell it’s later than I thought” He murmured to himself.

“Yeah it is, better get off pretty quickly then me” I said as I grabbed my blazer.

Richard’s hand grasped mine.

“No way are you driving at this time of night, you live miles away it’s too much of a trek, stay here with me” He said.

“But…” I was about to continue when he then looked into my eyes deeply, pleading me not to go. “Okay, you win”

“Good, I’m not having you falling asleep at the wheel, let’s get to bed” Richard said as we walked up the stairs into his house.

 

Richard showed me into the guest bedroom and placed a pile of nightclothes on my bed.

“All that you need should be here, if you need anything else I’m only next door” He smiled. “Goodnight dear” He said as he started to close the door, but I wasn’t done yet.

“Wait Richard a sec” I stopped him.

I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. Richard’s arms were wrapped around my waist and he pulled me even further into his embrace, burying his face into the crook of my neck. It was then I started to appreciate his scent, cologne, mixed with mint and the fabric softener in his clothes, it was truly, wonderful. I breathed deeply, taking in his scent, I could feel him doing the same thing and this made my stomach do thousands of somersaults. We eventually pulled away and said our goodnights, I turned towards my bed and started to sort out my nightclothes. I thought Richard had gone, but I was wrong. Oblivious to his presence, I then sensed Richard slyly come up behind me, he placed an arm around my waist and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Goodnight darling” he whispered in my ear, his forehead against my temple.

“Goodnight” I smiled, my hand reached for his arm to return a gesture. We smiled at each other dreamily and Richard walked out the door and closed it gently, giving another warm smile before he went.

My heart fluttered wildly out of control.

This - I was for definite this time - not a friendly gesture. This was more.

The way he looked at me.

The way he held me.

He feels it too.

I smiled to myself in satisfaction, I picked up my nightclothes and slipped them on. I shuffled into bed comfortably and turned off the light. Oh how I wish Richard could be next to me in bed right now, it would be wonderful to have his scent, his warmth in these Autumn nights. I closed my eyes and drifted into a deep sleep, no question about it, I would probably be dreaming about Richard.

‘Would he, or has he ever dreamt about me?’ I wondered…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooooo, how are you all finding this so far? I'm really enjoying writing this, I spent this whole day writing this chapter because I'm so hooked on this XD I hope you are all enjoying, no doubt the new chapter will be up very soon! 
> 
> Thank you all for your kind comments so far <3


	3. Chapter 3

The sunlight beamed through the curtains, my whole room flooded in light. My eyes fluttered open and squinted at the clock next to me. 8:45am, it was way too early for getting up now, besides I didn’t know when Richard would be getting up, due to the silence, I assumed he was still asleep, so my eyes closed again and I went back to sleep.

I was then awoken a few hours later by a hand caressing my head. I turned and realised Richard was there, he smiled a sleepy, but handsome smile.

“Morning sleeping beauty, time for you to wake up I think!” He chuckled.

“Why hello there” I said returning a smile.

“Come on, I’ve made you a cup of tea, go get dressed and meet me down there” He said.

I groaned and turned over playfully.

“Oh, I see how it is then”

I could hear in Richard’s voice that he was planning on getting me out of bed one way or another, I decided to play along, I secretly wanted to know what he would do.

All of a sudden, I felt Richard’s hands all over me, tickling me. Damn, I forgot he knew that I was stupidly ticklish. I started to bawl with laughter, tears streaming down my face.

“Richard! Richard - stop!” I laughed.

“Not until you agree to get out of bed missy!” He giggled.

“Okay! Okay I will just please stop I’ll laugh myself to death!” I said.

Richard finally stopped and he flung himself onto the bed beside me, his face inches away from mine. Oh dear lord.

“Okay, I’ll get ready then” I said as I swung my feet out the side of the bed.

Richard remained on my bed whilst I grabbed my clothes and went into the bathroom. I slipped on my clothes and brushed my teeth, I re-entered the bedroom pretty quickly and Richard was sat on the side of the bed.

“You’re waiting for me?” I asked.

“Well yes kind of, also because it’s impossible to get out of this bed it’s so comfy” He chuckled.

I shook my head, laughing to myself and I walked downstairs with Richard. I took the cup of tea he made for me earlier and sat at the kitchen table, sipping from the mug casually as Richard took his cup of tea and sat next to me. I checked my phone and realised I was on low battery.

“Whoops I have 19% left on my phone” I said.

“Tut tut, now see that’s what happens when you stay and help me fix my bike and it gets too late to go home so you have to stay the night” Richard said jokingly.

I nudged him and we both giggled.

We finished our tea, and soon I had to make my way home. Richard walked with me outside to my car.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Richard said.

“No, it’s nice of you to offer but honestly it’s okay, we need to get packing anyways, we’re off to New York tomorrow remember?” I said placing a hand on his arm.

“Oh right okay then” He replied.

“Why would you want to come with me anyway?” I asked.

“I just… don’t like leaving you alone by yourself…” He said.

“Awh, I don’t like leaving you at all, I love being with you, but I have to go home” I said, a little crestfallen.

“I know, I know you do. Have a safe journey yeah?” Richard said as he hugged me.

“I will I promise” I replied, hugging him back.

Soon we let go and I got into my car and turned on the engine reluctantly. Richard place an arm on the door when I winded down the window fully. I then thought about the amount of times Richard had kissed me on the cheek before we said goodbye, wondering if he would probably do it again. But then I thought to myself, maybe I need to kiss him back so he knows I’m okay with it? I don’t want him to be the only one, and I don’t want him to think I don’t like it because I don’t do the same to him, so I leaned forwards and kissed Richard on the cheek, with a prang of confidence spurring through me.

“I’ll see you tomorrow darling” I smiled.

Richard stayed silent for a moment, like he was trying to take in my gesture towards him.

“I’ll see you tomorrow Hazel sweetheart” He said, bringing his hand up to my face, using his thumb to caress my cheek for a second or two before pulling away.

Unwillingly, my foot pressed on the accelerator and I was driving away from Richard’s house, joining the main road. I thought long and hard about my feelings towards Richard, emotions running wildly through my head, I didn’t know what to think. For the whole journey back home, I wanted nothing more than to turn around and go back to Richard, but I couldn’t, I had packing to do, and so did he.

 

I arrived back home and started packing excitedly. I had always wanted to go to New York, it’s been my dream to go there, and the fact we were leaving tomorrow and I was going with Richard made me the more excited. The day flew by while I was packing, checking I had everything I needed and making sure my passport was all good. I went to bed late that night, my head was dreading the morning because I had to wake up at 4am for our flight. And Richard constantly being on my mind didn’t help either. He texted me at 11:40pm.

“I can’t sleep, I’m too excited ;)” It read. This made me smile.

“I can’t sleep either, I can’t wait :)” I replied.

Suddenly my phone rang, Richard’s name displayed on the screen.

“You know you’re way up past your bedtime missy, you shouldn’t be texting a handsome young chap when you should be asleep” He said cheekily.

“You think you’re so funny don’t you?” I laughed.

“No I don’t think I am to be honest, but seems as your laughing I take it that I am funny” He replied.

“Stop being cheeky! Why you calling me?” I asked.

“Because… I can’t sleep?” He said in an unsure tone. That reason didn’t satisfy me and he knew it, he was being a tease.

“The real reason?” I asked giggling.

“Okay right, I miss your voice after you went today I felt awful honestly, I just wanted to speak to you before you went to bed that’s all” He confessed.

He missed me??

Richard, missed ME?

“Richard that’s so sweet of you! I miss you too, but we’ll be together at the airport again in about 7 hours so don’t you worry” I said.

“I guess you’re right, better get some sleep then I suppose” Richard replied.

“I guess so, I’ll see you tomorrow Richard” I said.

“See you tomorrow Hazel” He said, and soon we had both put the phone down.

 I smiled to myself in satisfaction, and turned over, bringing the bed covers up to my face and snuggling down to try and get some sleep. Somehow after talking to Richard, it calmed me, so it was easy to fall asleep.

 

I woke the next morning at the crack of dawn, ready for our adventure. My bags were packed in the corner of my room ready to go. I picked up my passport and ticket on my bedside table and texted Richard to make sure he knew I was awake and ready. I took my bags downstairs after getting ready and I was out the door by 4:30am. A taxi took me to the airport, and along the way I thought about what would happen when we got to New York, thinking of all the challenges we would do. I was also looking forwards to the cars, I couldn’t wait to see the Hellcat and the Mustang. I seriously couldn’t wait to floor the Hellcat in the tunnel and annoy Jeremy and James but make Richard wet himself with excitement because of the noise, I could imagine it all happening, and I shouldn’t be. What if Richard was sat in the passenger seat next to me and I did that? No I daren’t think anymore of that.

I had reached the airport and I saw Jeremy and James next to the taxi rank, presumably waiting for me. I stepped out and grabbed my luggage from the boot, thanked the driver and paid the fare. Jeremy and James gave me a warm smile as I approached them.

“All ready then?” Jeremy asked.

“Never been more ready, where’s Richard?” I asked.

“You mean your boyfriend? Oh yeah he went to go get some food for us” James smiled triumphantly and Jeremy let out a giggle.

“Funny you are guys” I smirked.

We walked into the terminal and I placed my bag in the pile next to the others, just then Richard came back, cradling multiple sandwiches and drinks in his arms. He gave Jeremy’s and James’ and he came to me last.

“I got you egg and mayo, I know it’s your favourite” He winked.

“You’re such a darling thank you Richard!” I said as we hugged.

 

We waited an hour for checking in, and eventually we reached the desk, our passports were checked, our tickets we’re done and payed for, and our luggage was taken, all we had to do was wait to board the plane. I sat with Richard next to the gate, and we did whatever we could to keep each other occupied for a few hours until we had to board. We shuffled though playlists, laughed at Facebook videos and winded each other up.

“Shall we get a coffee before we go?” Richard said.

“Good idea, we’ll need it” I said.

Me and Richard walked to the coffee shop, only a few minutes away from our gate and Richard sparked up conversation.

“So, where specifically would you like to go in New York? Times Square? Statue of Liberty?” He asked.

“I want to go everywhere, but I mostly want to go to the Empire State building, my mom went there as a kid and she said it was brilliant, she told me all about her experience there all the time when I was a child and so that’s why I’ve always wanted to go there” I said.

“Hmm I see” Richard said.

“Why do you ask?” I said.

“Oh, no reason, just wanted to know” He said. I knew he was lying. You can always catch out Richard when he’s lying, his tone of voice changes.

“Lier, I can tell you know, I ain’t no fool dear” I giggled.

“Oh alright I was thinking of taking you somewhere where you really want to go when we get a day off you know” He said.

“Aww, that’s lovely Richard, in that case, I won’t speak anymore of it” I smiled as we took our coffee and sat back in our seats.

Half an hour later the gate opened and we were ready to board. The excitement was building up inside of me, as if I was about to burst at any second. Jeremy and James followed closely, along with the crew behind us. Me and Richard sat together and Jeremy and James sat behind us. No doubt they will tease us the whole way there. Great.

“You okay?” Richard asked.

“Yep all good, I’m just excited, you?” I asked.

“I’ve never been so excited” Richard replied.

When everyone was boarded and ready we were soon able to take off. Taking off on a plane can be a terrible experience for some people, but for me, it’s the best part. It’s exciting, it’s a start of new adventures, I love it.

 

When we were a few hours into the journey, Richard started to get drowsy. His head was tilting sideways and his eyes were drooping.

“See you shouldn’t have stayed up so late talking to a pretty girl at 11:40pm, you could have got more sleep!” I said trying to keep him awake.

“Eh, it’s worth it” He mumbled.

“Well you could at least stay awake now talking to the pretty girl?” I said teasingly.

“But I spent last night talking to her then, I do need a break every now and then” He giggled.

I slapped him on the arm playfully.

“Fine, I’ll let you sleep, but only for a few hours, I don’t want to be left alone this whole filght just because you can’t stay awake” I said.

“But you won’t be alone, I’m still here, if you really need that much attention cause you’re a pretty girl then come here”

Richard grasped my hand lightly in his, and interlocked our fingers.

“There, is that better?” He asked.

I sat frozen for a while. Am I dreaming?

“That’s… much better thank you” I said. “Now you can sleep”

“Good” Richard let his head fall back on the chair and he closed his eyes, gently falling asleep.

I sat there while he tried to sleep, with his hand in mine, unsure of what to do. If anyone saw, it would look suspicious, especially if Jeremy and James saw it. So I decided to try and eliminate any awkwardness by trying to sleep myself, that way, I can display it as looking as an accident if anyone saw and asked me or Richard about it later.

I lay my head back, put my phone in my hand and earphones in my ears, so it looked like I at least fell asleep through exhaustion and I wouldn’t of had a clue what I was doing. I rested back in my seat and tried to fall asleep.

I was startled awake a few hours later by Richard, I didn’t expect to actually fall asleep, but I must have.

“Hazel, we’re touching down soon darling” He whispered.

“Oh right, yes okay” I said buckling up my belt.

“Nice sleep?” He asked jokingly.

“Bugger off” I chuckled. “Yes I did thank you, what about you?”

“It was good, but I did get bored of sleeping, so I woke up and listened to your awful taste in music instead” He laughed.

“Fuck off you! I do not have a bad taste in music and what were you doing on my phone?” I asked.

“I was only joking sweetheart, and I promise you I didn’t go snooping through it, just shuffled through your music that’s all, you trust me right?” He said.

“Yes, I trust you, okay” I said.

A few minutes passed by and we were on American tarmac, well, asphalt as they like to call it. We came off the plane and we were briefly transported to our hotel by a taxi, we left the crew behind to make their own way there. I could do nothing but stare out of the window the whole ride there, the scenery was like nothing I had ever seen before, it was truly mesmerising. I kept pointing out things to Richard, and he was just as interested as I was.

We reached the hotel and checked in, it was then that the classic news was broken to us by Andy that there were only two rooms available between the four of us.

“Typical, this always happens” Jeremy grunted. “I don’t mind sharing with James really anyway, good luck with the loud one Hazel, I’m sure that won’t be a problem for you” He winked.

I tutted and shook my head.

“Of course I’ll share with Richard that’s fine because he isn’t the loudest when it come to you two apes” I giggled.

Jeremy and James rolled their eyes and we continued to our rooms upstairs carrying our luggage. Me and Richard walked into our room and placed our bags to the side. I stared in awe at our beautiful room.

“Richard look at this, it’s gorgeous!” I said. “And there’s a balcony!”

I opened the doors and swiftly stepped onto the wooden planks that held the balcony in place. It was beautiful, it was covered in lights and the view was amazing, I was… dumbfounded.

“Oh Richard, I could live here and never get bored of seeing this view everyday” I said.

“It’s lovely isn’t it?” Richard also took into account the beautiful scenery in front of us. I could see the orange of the sunset reflecting in his lustrous brown eyes, the radiance of the sun bought out the deep, hazelnut colour in his hair. He looked just as good as the scenery did.

“I can tell this will be a wonderful trip, I can see it” I said.

“It’s just as good that I get to spend it with you” Richard smiled as he put an arm around me.

I smiled and put my arm around him too. We watched the sun go down together over the horizon of the sea, and I could do nothing but smile to myself. I wanted to look at Richard again, but I dare not, just in case I make the situation awkward. Then that reminded me of something.

“Richard, you know when, you went to go to sleep and we held hands yeah?” I gulped hard.

“Yes?” He said.

“Did anyone see? Like Jeremy or James?” I asked.

“Not that I know of no, they could have but we may have been asleep” He said. “Why?”

Oh God, now I have to define the reason why I asked the question in the first place dammit.

“I just didn’t want them to see just in case they took the piss out of us again, don’t get me wrong I loved it but they would think… you know-“

“That we were together?” Richard finished.

There, he said it.

“Yeah” I said.

“It’s my turn to ask you something now Hazel and I’m serious when I say this” Richard said.

There is nothing else he could possibly say to make the situation worse so just calm yourself Hazel.

“I think we have something, between us…” He said.

Dear lord.

“…Do you think so too?” He carried on.

I stopped and I thought.

‘Bloody hell Hazel, say yes, you’ve been considering the same thing for the past few weeks yourself’ I thought.

“Well… yeah I do” I smiled an awkward smile, but this only made Richard happier.

“How about… we talk no further in this, and let’s see what happens shall we?” Richard smiled.

“I agree” I returned a smile, and we wrapped our arms around each other.

 

I was right. This was definitely going to be a great trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed, quite a lengthy chapter this time XD <3


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning me and Richard awoke bright and early, ready for our first shoot in New York. We were - no doubt about it - stupidly excited. After our talk last night, I felt somewhat, enlightened. Richard was all of a sudden the most important person in my life, he was before all this, but now even more so. We were going somewhere, and we both knew it and it made me so happy, so loved. The way he looked at me made my heart melt, his gentle touches, kind and wonderful words. Richard was perfect, all I could ever want and to know we were going somewhere was a godsend. We got up out of bed and I headed to the bathroom first to have a shower and get ready, I didn’t want to be too long otherwise I would keep Richard waiting. Once my shower was over I dried my hair and slipped on my black skinny jeans, white shirt and my favourite black blazer, spraying myself with my favourite perfume before leaving. I opened the door and I took one step out and Richard was there, inches away from me. He looked into my eyes and he looked pleasantly surprised when he sniffed slightly, catching the fragrance I was wearing.

“Hi” He said, still looking into my eyes dreamily.

“Hi” I smiled.

All he could do was smile back as we brushed past each other as he went into the bathroom and closed the door, I giggled happily.

I sat on my bed as I looked through my phone as I waited for the signal to go down and meet everyone. Richard walked out of the bathroom in his grey skinny jeans, dark green waistcoat, white shirt and tartan blazer, the smell of aftershave and hair products following as he came out. Oh dear lord did he look good today.

“Shall we go then? Just heard Jeremy’s voice I guess we’re going” My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his voice.

“Oh, yeah yeah I’m coming” I shook my head and scrambled my phone into my back pocket.

“You alright?” Richard asked.

“Yeah I’m just fine I was just thinking that’s all” I giggled nervously, knowing full well that if Richard were to know what I was thinking then I would drop everything and run fast.

 

We walked out of the door and met with Jeremy at the stairs, James was already in the lobby getting his mic fitted, the crew were running about trying to get camera equipment set up and the directors were fiddling with various bits of paperwork. Instantly the crew bombarded us as usual and fitted our mics.

“Okay guys we’re starting within a few minutes, do you know your scripts?” Andy asked.

“Pretty much, of course we’ll improvise on it as usual so we’re good to go” Jeremy said.

“Alright that’s good let’s get this rolling then” Andy said as he walked off towards the camera crew.

We were to do a shot of us walking out of the hotel and meeting with our cars outside. It was an exciting moment, we will meet our cars soon, and me and Richard were especially excited. The camera’s started rolling, we walked out of the hotel and we were met with the four cars each of us chose. My eyes were bestowed amongst my beloved, blood red Hellcat, it looked mean and it looked sexy, just how Richard would describe it. My eyes then followed to Richard’s Mustang in the colour of aquatic blue, with two devious black stripes running from the front to the back, it was a gorgeous thing.

“Oh isn’t it just beautiful” Richard walked around his Mustang and inspected each feature closely.

“It’s just gorgeous Richard” I couldn’t help but stare at his Mustang.

“I know I am but thank you kindly for pointing that out” Richard said with a cheeky grin.

All I could do was shake my head and giggle. “Oh you are indeed very funny Mr Hammond, but hey, won’t you look at this thing” I pointed to my Hellcat.

“Oh dear God look at it, it looks… there are no words” He looked dumbfounded.

“James have you gone and bought a bloody Austin?” Jeremy laughed. “Look at it!”

James shook his head.

“And you’ve gone and got yourself a Chevvy Camaro!” James laughed.

“Okay guys let’s not start throwing abuse and opinions at each other, let’s get on with it” I said before the situation got worse.

 

Throughout the whole day Jeremy and James were hurling abuse at me and Richard, also at one another themselves about our cars. Our challenge was to drive 800 miles, coming out of the South side of New York, driving around then entering back into the North of New York, finishing at the Statue of Liberty. Our first mission was to drive to a test track and race our cars, the usual drag race and so on. The journey there was more of a pleasure, apart from Jeremy and James’ bickering. All me and Richard wanted to do was enjoy the sounds of the cars rather than the sound of the two orangutans. Soon enough, about 30 miles into our journey, we encountered a tunnel.

“Ladies first, let’s here that Hellcat” Richard said over the radio.

I happily obliged, Richard and me had winded down all the windows to make sure we heard the best of it, and my foot suddenly went down on the throttle sharply, causing the car to let out a dark, deep roar, and it echoed ferociously about the tunnel.

“Oh my goodness that thing is evil! Listen to that sexy thing!” He shouted.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“It sounds glorious!” I replied.

“Guys I think Hammond has become slightly uncomfortable in his trousers” Jeremy said over the radio.

“Well just listen to the thing would you it’s bloody beautiful!” Hammond defended himself.

 

Soon a few minutes later we had reached the test track, somewhere remote just on the outskirts of New York, where NASCAR racers practice their runs.

“So, drag race everybody?” Jeremy asked.

Before anybody could open their mouth Jeremy raced into his car and slammed the door shut.

“So I guess we are then” I giggled as the rest of us also ran back into our cars.

We lined up at the start line, each of us revving our engines to maximum revs. Richard was to the left of me, he looked at me and gave me a wink before looking back in front of him again.

‘Dammit Hammond now is not the time to melt my heart’ I thought.

The first red light flashed.

Then the second.

Third.

Then green.

Our tyres screeched and our engines howled as we pushed off the start line. The Mustang pulled forwards first, James in the Austin left far behind, and Jeremy creeping up. My car slowly started to pull forwards, the noses of mine and Richards car lined up perfectly, until my Hellcat strived even further forward. I saluted playfully to Richard as I went past, whilst he shouted “No!” and started shuffling in his seat desperately wanting the car to go faster, but my Hellcat was still pushing. I crossed the finish line first, Richard just seconds after, Jeremy a few more seconds afterwards and James bringing up the rear. We jumped out of our cars and Jeremy gathered up the times from the producer and came back over to us, holding the piece of card in his hand.

“Mr James May, you finished last and you finished the race in a 1 minute 26”

James just smiled and laughed in embarrassment.

“I did it in 1:19, Hammond you finished with a 1:15”

Richard pulled a pretend frowned face and crossed his arms.

“Miss Hazel Sullivan you finished with a 1 minute 11 seconds, congrats” Jeremy said in a slightly annoyed tone of voice.

“Yes! Proves my car is best!” I grinned triumphantly in my victory.

 

We did a series of more challenges, we raced around the track, I yet again coming first. We did a drifting challenge and Richard won that. I always saw the Mustang as an amazing drifter and it truly was, it looked glorious in the setting sun, the orange and yellows gleaming upon the beautiful blue paintwork, making it shine brighter than the rest. And seeing Richard drift the thing was another story, damn how I would have loved to have been in that car with him, seeing him concentrate, seeing his arms flex and strain as he fights with the steering wheel.

When the challenge ended, we were told by the producers that we needed to wait for a bit to check over the films to see if we had done enough and they had enough good shots of the cars. Richard pulled up in his Mustang next to me.

“Jump in” He said with a cheeky grin on his face.

I smiled at him and shuffled myself into the passenger seat. Within no time at all we were on the track and Richard pushed the car to it’s limit, it was flying down straights, drifting graciously around the corners, I loved every bit of it, and the concentration on Richards face, his smiles, the way his arms twisted and turned the wheel, I was starting to lose myself in the moment, until he suddenly stopped.

“You’re turn darling” He said as he opened the car door and walked to the other side.

I shook my head and jumped out the car, swapping sides with Richard. I shifted into the drivers seat, and the warmth of Richard was still present on the seat, even where his hands had been on the steering wheel, and it made me feel so comforted and bubbly.

I turned on the ignition, and a floored the Mustang around the track. The experience was enlightening, the adrenaline was pumping around my body wildly.

“This thing… Oh my God I want one” I said as I slowly came to a stop at the pits.

“I’m impressed, your driving back then was astonishing…” Richard said.

“Why thank you, if I may say, yours was too, especially when you were drifting around the corners earlier” I smiled.

We got out the car and headed over to my Hellcat, I could see the excitement in Richards face, and it was building within him.

Richard sat himself in the drivers seat, and his hands roamed about the steering wheel and the gearstick.

“It’s gorgeous this thing…” Richard murmured.

He twisted the key in the ignition and the engine spurred into life. The excitement within Richard had burst, he placed his foot down firmly on the accelerator, and he sped off onto the track. The gear changes were sharp and accurate, the turns were elegantly done, contrasting to the wild noise coming from underneath the bonnet. Richard didn’t speak a word, he could only make noises, some inaudible grunts and moans escaped his lips. Oh God, I couldn’t last, my mind involuntarily wandered, and I started to imagine Richard making those grunts and moans in an entirely different way. I mentally slapped myself. ‘Concentrate on his driving Hazel dammit’ I thought to myself.

The car came to a stop, and Richard smiled widely, the grin on his face was a one not to be missed.

“I love this thing, dear God…” He giggled.

“I know right?” I giggled back, trying to avoid the thoughts I was thinking of before.

“The noises it makes, I couldn’t describe them, the thoughts are too explicit” He laughed as we made our way out of the car.

We met up with James and Jeremy.

“Had fun lovebirds?” Jeremy chuckled.

I was about to speak until Richard interrupted.

“Yes, it was brilliant thank you” He smiled and looked at me and I smiled back.

One of the producers walked over to us and said we had enough good film so we should now start driving to the hotel as it was getting dark quickly.

We hopped back into our cars, the cameras started rolling and we set off to the hotel 20 miles away. When we arrived at the hotel they stopped the cameras and we checked in. We bought our bags upstairs, Jeremy and James went into their rooms, said their goodnights and shut the door. Richard walked up towards me, placing his bags down at his feet.

“You need any help sweetheart?” He asked.

“I think I’m okay thank you dear” I said kindly.

However, Richard being Richard he picked up one of my bags and he entered the room with me and placed it to the side.

“I didn’t even need an answer” He smiled.

“Thank you” I returned a smile.

For a moment, there was a short silence as we looked deeply into each other’s eyes and we smiled at each other yet again.

“Are you going to your room now?” I asked in the hope that he may stay.

“I don’t want to, I didn’t even want my own room” He said.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because I wanted to share with you, I hate leaving you” He said as he placed two fingers under my chin and lifted my head to meet his dreamy, brown eyes.

“I hate leaving you too” I said.

My heart was beating faster, my breathing shallowed. God, I seriously do hate leaving him too, I want nothing more than to just have him by my side at all times, his smell, his arms wrapped around me, I craved it.

“I really enjoyed today, thank you for letting me play around in your Mustang Richard” I said.

“And thank you for letting me play around in your Hellcat, it was truly a wild ride I’ll never forget” He winked, and I laughed at his innuendo.

“What a dirty mind you have Mr Hammond” I laughed.

“Trust me, if only you knew the things I think about…” He winked again.

‘What?!’ I thought. ‘Dirty bugger, I wonder what he thinks about when I’m in his head’ I giggled to myself.

“Well I better go then, I’m sorry” Richard said as he wrapped his arms around me.

“Don’t be sorry, you have to go and get some sleep, we’ll see each other tomorrow morning” I said.

“Not soon enough” He said, his puppy dog eyes looking deep into mine once again.

“It isn’t ideal for me either but we’ll have to go with it” I said.

There was another silence, and then Richard leaned forward and kissed my cheek longingly, letting the feeling linger when he pulled away. I smiled as he walked towards the door, he turned around and I took this opportunity to kiss him back, dangerously close to the corner of his lips. That should drive him mad for a while.

He smiled and picked up his bags.

“Goodnight darling” He said as he walked to his room next door.

“Goodnight dear” I replied and I shut my door, leaning against in and sinking to the floor.

“I miss you already” I whispered to myself.

 

 

The next morning I woke up to a knock on my door.

“Come on Hazel we got to go soon, come get some breakfast dear” James said.

“Okay thank you James” I shouted to him.

I pulled off my covers and made them up neatly on my bed, grabbing some clothes from my suitcase and quickly putting them on. I did some makeup, sprayed my perfume and went downstairs with my bag and case. I dumped them with the others and joined the others for breakfast, James and Richard were there, Jeremy yet to make an appearance.

“Hello sweetheart, good night?” Richard asked as I sat next to him.

“Yeah it was alright I guess” I said, Richard knowing full well why it wasn’t amazing without even needing to say it.

Jeremy then walked in and sat next to James joining in the conversation.

“Are the little lovebirds sad that they didn’t share a room last night, aww poor things” Jeremy teased.

“Shut up you, we were perfectly fine!” I said.

After our breakfast meeting we proceeded with our day, we jumped into our cars and set off. Today we were to drive 300 miles and do some challenges along the way as usual. We set off through the streets of New York, and about 50 miles into our journey we were encountered with police sirens heard behind us in the distance.

“Ooo James I reckon they’re gonna stop you for driving too slow” Jeremy said over the radio. We all laughed and James replied “Shut up Clarkson”

We were driving slowly through the street, I was in front, Richard behind, Jeremy then James at the back, and it was then we heard the sirens draw nearer, and the sound of a V8 engine roared past us. The police were chasing them, it was exciting but scary at the same time.

“Bloody hell nice car” Jeremy said over the radio.

My eyes narrowed as the police chased the getaway car, now a few yards in front of me.

“He’s going way too fast though” I said over the radio.

The car kept shifting from the left side, to the right side of the road, dodging all traffic, and I sensed something bad was going to happen, and so did the others. Panic rose in my chest as I saw an oncoming car from the opposite side of the road, the speeding car heading straight at it.

“Guys, shit they’re going to crash-“ Richard’s voice was interrupted by the sound of a huge smash.

The two cars had collided, a huge plume of smoke had risen into the air, making it hard to see what was going on. Before we could even react, another car behind had swerved and hit the back end of Richards car behind me, which caused his car to crash into me in front. The cars on the opposite side of the road had only a few seconds to realise what had happened, some came to a halt, but another car skidded and smashed into the side of my car, sending it onto the pavement on its side. At that point, I was out cold. The last thing I heard was Richard screaming my name…

 

My eyes fluttered open, the smell of smoke and petrol fumes filled my lungs. My head was spinning, the pressure on my left side was strange, it took me some time to accumulate it, but my car was the wrong way up. I looked around, panic striking through me. I shouted Richard’s name, then Jeremy’s then James’, no answer. I took off my seatbelt and held onto the passenger seat. I moved my legs and any other limbs, nothing was broken, but my whole body was in agony, I hauled myself up and opened the passenger side door. I clambered out and studied the scene around me, it looked like something out of a disaster movie. Cars were tipped upside down, on their sides everywhere, smoke was rising, fire was burning. I could see no one. My breathing soon shallowed and was out of control, I crawled my way out with the strength I had left and fell to the pavement, hurt and scared. I tried to look around, but my head was in too much of a state to make out anything. It was then I heard a voice. A familiar one. They were shouting my name, I saw the faintest sign of hope. The voice drew nearer so I spoke.

“Hello?” I shouted as loud as I could.

The voice stopped for a minute.

“Hazel?” I heard again, and this time I recgonised the voice.

“Richard!” I shouted and strained myself to get up.

I saw him, I saw him running.

“Richard!” I shouted again and I waved my arm at him.

He looked straight at me, and ran towards me.

“Hazel oh dear God are you okay? I thought I bloody lost you” He fell to his knees and hugged me tight, I held him like my life depended on it.

“Where is everyone else, what the fuck happened?!” I said.

“A huge crash God it was chaos, I saw your car flip over and Jesus… shit I didn’t know what to think, James, Jeremy and the rest of the crew are on the other side but we can’t get to them” He said breathlessly.

Richard helped me up and we jogged the furthest we could to try and see James and Jeremy, but I was aching with pain and couldn’t keep up with Richard.

“Are you hurt darling? Where?” He asked his voice full of deep concern.

“Everything bloody hell” I whimpered and fell into Richard arms.

“Hey, hey it’s okay we’ll get out of this” He said softly.

Richard put one of my arms around him and he helped me along. I could see some recognisable figures in the distance.

“Richard, Hazel are you two alright?” James shouted.

“We’re okay, Hazel is hurt we need to get to a hospital now” Richard shouted back.

Whilst they were shouting over to each other, I looked at all the people who were hurt and being treated at the side of the road, a look of devastation upon everyone’s face. I then looked over the many wreckages scattered upon the road, several cars blocked our path to the others. My eyes were focused upon one certain car, petrol dripping out of the tank, I saw the car, bursting with flames drawing nearer and nearer to the petrol…

“Richard” I said.

He didn’t hear me.

“Richard, fuck that car it’s gonna blow!” I shouted.

With only a split second to think, Richard picked me up and ran as far as he could as the car exploded behind us, and we were forced to the floor. We could hear James, Jeremy and the rest of the crew shouting, but what I heard was all muffled.

“Hazel, Hazel are you okay, we need to go before something else blows” Richard said as calmly as he could trying to help me up. “You’re okay it’s okay” I heard him say.

I felt myself drifting out of consciousness, my eyes drooped and I kept slipping from Richards grasp as we strived forwards. Another car blew up in the distance and now there was fire spreading wildly out of control behind us.

“Richard…” I whispered, barely able to form a sentence. “Richard I can’t…”

“Yes you can come on please we will get out of this darling please don’t slip away” He cried.

“I’m sorry… I’m… I’m gonna go…” I stuttered.

I started to slip, drifting away, falling to my knees. I felt Richard pick me up in his arms, and he ran. I heard muffled sirens, Richard shouting, it was all a blur. I sensed someone from the ambulance crew trying to speak to me, but I couldn’t answer. I was placed in the back of the ambulance, by then, I heard nothing, I could see nothing, I couldn’t taste the blood in my mouth anymore, but I could feel. I felt Richard, his hand in mine, gripping tightly. I tried desperately not to slip away, I wanted to talk to Richard, I wanted to feel his hand in mine the whole time, but I couldn’t, I was weak and all sense of consciousness drifted away all too quickly.

It went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're all enjoying so far. Things are starting to get serious, the next chapter will define what happens next, stay tuned :)  
> Thank you all for your kudos and kind comments so far <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hazel wakes up in hospital, Richard by her side.  
> She realises that no matter what happens even if they don't make it back to James and Jeremy, Richard will always be there for her, her desire for him grows ever so slightly...

My eyes fluttered. All I could see was bright, beaming lights. I tried to focus, but I couldn’t, my eyes stayed half lidded and weary. I saw what I presumed to be a nurse next to me, fiddling with various bits of wires, checking me over. Okay, so now I know I’m currently in a hospital bed. All the memories are flooding back.

‘Shit where’s Richard?’ I thought.

I was trying so hard to try and fight the bright lights and to keep my eyes open, overtime it became easier and the nurse started talking to me.

“Hazel are you okay sweetheart?” She asked.

“Yes, I think I am, where’s Richard?” I replied.

“He’s just gone to get a drink for you, he’s been beside you since you were bought in, told us your eyes were fluttering, he’s a real hero you know, he must love you so much to stay with you all this time” She smiled.

“How long have I been out?” I asked.

“5 days” She replied.

“5 days? Has he slept? Has he been okay?” I asked again.

“He has refused to sleep, he’s had a few hours here and there, hasn’t eaten much either but he’s been worried sick. He came in with a few cuts and bruises but he’s fine nothing major” She said trying to reassure me.

Just then I saw Richard come through the door, his face lit up and the corners of his mouth raised higher.

“Oh darling you’re okay” He said happily as he put his arms around me.

I heard the nurse leave us to it, so I took that as my cue just to let it all out, I sobbed uncontrollably into his shoulder.

“Hey hey, you’re okay baby” He said softly, rubbing my back and holding me tight.

I was upset that he had been through hell for me, but I was indescribably happy to be in his arms.

“Bloody hell are you okay? I’m so worried” I said.

“I’m fine sweetheart I’m fine” He replied.

“No you’re not, the nurse told me you haven’t been sleeping or eating much, don’t do that to yourself I could slap you” I said, trying to hold back tears.

“Darling I couldn’t, no matter how hard I tried, I was too worried” He said with a serious face.

“You shouldn’t be worrying about me darling, look what it’s done to you” I said.

Richard place his hands on either side of my face and wiped my tears from my cheeks with his thumbs.

“Sweetheart… I will forever worry about you until the day I die, I can’t help but worry” He said softly.

“Thank you… for everything” More tears escaped my eyes, and Richard pulled my head into his chest and rocked my backwards and forwards gently on the bed. After a few more minutes the doctor came into our room wanting to do a quick check up.

“So has she been okay since her episode the other day?” He turned around and asked the nurse.

“Yes her heartbeat has been steady, blood pressure is average” She said.

“Wait, an episode?” I asked.

“The other night, while in your coma, you went into cardiac arrest, we had to resuscitate, we nearly lost you” The doctor explained calmly.

“What? I was confused. Luckily, I don’t remember any of it because I was in a coma, but I was terrified now even though I was still living and breathing. I looked back at Richard and he gave a weak smile. I put him through that, dear God no wonder he hasn’t slept.

“You seem to be doing great, another night of rest and you can be discharged tomorrow I think. Please don’t worry too much, you are okay” The doctor said as he went out with the nurse exchanging information.

“See, you’re doing amazing we can go tomorrow!” Richard said happily.

“I… I nearly died?” I was still in shock. “Oh God, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry I put you through that I feel terrible” I said.

“Hey, it’s not your fault don’t you dare say sorry” Richard got up from his chair and sat on the side of my bed again comforting me. “It took them 5 whole minutes, it felt like forever. They thought… I thought I lost you” I could hear the crack in Richard’s voice, I could do nothing but hold him.

“Where’s everyone else?” I asked suddenly realising.

“Erm… well that’s another story. I don’t have my phone, I left it in the hotel and we can’t find yours, must be at the crash scene, probably destroyed anyway, I can’t remember anyone’s numbers so, long story short, I have no idea” He said.

“Oh…” I said. “Well what now? I’m discharged tomorrow where will we go?” I asked.

“I don’t know what to do, we could find our way back by going to the hotel, but it’s miles away and we don’t have a car or any means of contact” He said.

“Bugger, do they not know we’re here?” I asked.

“They could never know, they couldn’t get past all the cars, I could barely communicate with them across it all. They have no idea where we are, and we have no idea where they are” Richard replied.

“Well shit…” I huffed.

“We will need to come up with a plan, our best bet is going back to the hotel we were at, but only God knows where it is” Richard said as he thought.

We were in deep shit, we didn’t know what to do. We thought about staying at the hospital but we couldn’t because we wouldn’t be patients by tomorrow, they would ultimately throw us out. Eventually we came to the agreement that we would have a wonder round and see what we came across, we could remember the name of the hotel and Richard said he could try and memorise the route back but there would be no guarantees. We set off the next morning after I was discharged, grabbed together what we had and tried to find our way through. One problem is that we were very recognisable faces and we didn’t have time for autographs and pictures, we needed to get back.

“How much money do you have on you?” I asked Richard.

“About $300” He replied.

“Why did you bring that much with you?!” I asked.

“I wanted to buy Jeremy a massive present that he couldn’t fit in his car or something along those lines” He let out a light chuckle.

“Well good on you, because we may be stuck in a few hotels and taxi cabs trying to find our way back here” I replied.

“That’s a good point”

“Do you know where we’re going then?” I asked.

“Well, I do remember going past these blocks of buildings on the way to the hospital but that’s about it” He said.

“There has to be something somewhere that tells us where we are” I said.

“I wish there was, but we’ll just have to keep going, we’re getting somewhere you know” Richard said with a smile as he put an arm around me.

“Yeah I guess so”

 

Me and Richard circled around New York’s streets until dark, not really knowing what much else we could do we went to book into the nearest hotel. When shown to our room, I sat on the edge of the bed and lay down, we had been walking all day trying to find our way back, so we were both heavily tired. My thoughts rushed through my head, the situation we were in overwhelmed me, I had been in a horrific car crash, nearly died, Richard got hurt, we can’t find our friends and the crew, now we’re trying to find our way back to a hotel and find them. It was all too much for my head to handle, I couldn’t take it in.

“Are you okay Hazel?” Richard asked as he sat on the edge of the bed.

“I just… my life… what the hell is going on” I chuckled slightly.

“I ask myself the same question every day darling trust me” Richard laughed.

“I just can’t take in what’s going on that’s all” I said.

“Don’t worry, we will find our way back and the most important thing is you’re okay” Richard said laying with me.

“Hm, I guess so”

“You have me, and I will never leave your side, so please stop worrying” He kissed my forehead tenderly, and my heart stopped for a moment. I felt the meaningfulness of it, he meant it, and that’s what mattered.

“Thank you Richard honestly where would I be without you?” I said as I snuggled up to him.

It was there I felt it, a sudden wave of desire, his arms around me, the kiss on my forehead. I held him tighter, in the hope it would somehow give him a sign, but nothing. My hope died down for a second, ‘it’s too soon” I thought.

Richard turned around to turn off the light and we snuggled for warmth underneath the covers, Richards arms finding their way around me again. My cold hands touched his warm skin, I could feel him twitch beneath me, but then he relaxed and held my hands in his. I felt so protected by him, he was my security and as he said before, he would always be by my side and he would never leave me, I knew from then on I had nothing to worry about, we will find our way back home, even if we don’t, I know I still have the most important person in my life beside me the whole way.

Never in a million years would I ever think about leaving him out of my sight...


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richard and Hazel are still roaming around New York's streets trying to find their way back after the crash a few days ago. Their relationship grows and blossoms, they check into a hotel room and find that they can no longer hold themselves back from what they so desperately want...
> 
> (I've been away for so long and I'm so sorry guys, here's another good ol' chapter for you :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (WARNING: VERY EXPLICIT CONTENT, READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRESTION)

I woke up the next morning, the space behind me was apparent. I looked at the clock.

“Jesus what is he doing up at 6:30?” I thought to myself.

Richard appeared from the bathroom in his tight black t-shirt and grey jeans rubbing his eyes.

“Why so early?” I said muffled under the covers.

Richard came over to me beside the bed. Considering he had been wearing those clothes for more or less a whole week now he still smelled like heaven.

“I want to get going as early as possible, I just want to get you home and safe, plus I think we need to buy some more clothes” He said.

“Right, good point” I said as I pulled myself out of bed and grabbed my clothes, walking to the bathroom.

“Do you really have to get dressed in there?” He said with a cheeky smile on his face.

“I’m afraid so Mr Hammond” I winked.

“What a shame” He chuckled.

 

We carried whatever we had of our possessions – which was very little – and ventured onwards and upwards to try and find our way back. We stopped off at the nearest clothes shop and bought a new fresh pair of jeans and a t-shirt for ourselves, and pleased with our decisions, we made a stop at a café and grabbed something to eat. With our desires fulfilled we set off on the long walk, yet again with no clue where anyone was or where we were going.

“Can you remember at all what street the crash happened? If we can remember that we could retrace our journey back from there and find the hotel, there’s a 95% chance the James, Jeremy and the crew are still there” I said.

“Good idea, however I can’t remember for the life of me where we were when the crash happened, I presume you don’t either” Richard said.

“God sake, it’s so frustrating” I said in an annoyed tone as we walked through the street.

“Hey don’t be angry with yourself, it’s not your fault darling” He said as he put a hand on my shoulder. “I know it frustrating but the best we can do is try”

“I’m fed up of trying now Richard, we’ve walked miles in the last few days and got nowhere, I’m fucking tired of it, I can’t sleep at night knowing we’ll never get back and it’s tearing me apart” I wasn’t fully aware I was having a mental breakdown in public.

Richard grabbed me by the waist and pulled me to the side, he held my hands in his.

“Look Hazel, I know it’s hard but what more else can we do? You’ve been through so much, this is why you’re tired of it, but if we want to get home then we need to keep going. I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry” He hugged me as I sobbed uncontrollably into his shoulder.

“You have nothing to apologise for, it’s me I’m just being a dick” I said.

“It’s not your fault sweetheart”

“No but it is Richard, he’s me sobbing like a prick and I’m taking it out on you, It’s so selfish of me, I’m sorry”

Richard held me tighter.

“Do not blame yourself and don’t apologise, we’ll get through this, you have me”

“I do have you, and I’m grateful to have you”

Me and Richard stood for a while in each other’s embrace, when we then realised we were in public.

“The media will be all over us if we stay here like this” Richard chuckled.

“That’s true, let’s keep going” I smiled as we continued to walk down the street.

 

Several hours later, me and Richard ended up checking in to another hotel. We ordered room service to get something to eat and it was bought up swiftly, we sat on the bed whilst we munched on sandwiches, watched TV and bought up conversation with one another, laughing and joking our way through the night. Richard went to have a shower whilst I turned off the TV to read a book, one of the only things I retrieved from the belongings I had with me after the crash. Without even noticing, Richard had come out of the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist, his hair dripping wet.

“You know you look so sexy with those glasses on the end of your nose like that, with that concentration face” He said.

I looked up and to my surprise saw Richard standing there, he was biting his lip hard. I looked Richard up and down, trying to suppress my own desire for him as he was standing there practically naked in front of me, only a thin sheet of cotton shielding my eyes away from what I so wrongly, but rightfully wanted.

“Jesus Hammond…” I didn’t even think about what I was saying, words just spilled out of my mouth.

Richard came closer with a seductive look on his face, lust in his deep, dark, brown eyes. His hands took my book away, then he took my glasses off my face, placing them on the table to the side of me.

“You know Hazel, I can’t help myself anymore, I’ve waited too long and you’re driving me crazy, God I just want to… I can’t explain it, it’s ungentlemanly of me to say it but…”

“What Richard?” I asked as he came closer and closer.

“I just want to fuck you, I want to fuck you so hard until you scream my name, so hard you can’t move, I want this whole bloody hotel to know, please Jesus I can’t help myself anymore”

Before I knew it Richard lips were on mine, I granted him access instantly, his words had wound me up so much that I couldn’t say no, and he knew I had to have him now. We kissed desperately, passion and tension growing, his towel couldn’t hide the fact he was growing harder and harder by the second. He pulled all my clothes of me within minutes, his strong but elegant hands kneading my breasts, his thumbs rolling my nipples round in circles, creating even more heat to radiate off my core. He was so rough and I loved it, the sexual tension had grown between us since the start of this trip and now we were releasing it all in one, he wanted to go gentle, to saviour the moment, but now we were in the moment after so long, he couldn’t help himself, he wanted wild and prolific sex, because that was the only way in which he could fulfil his desires quickly.

He kissed down my body until he reached between my legs, he spread me apart as wide as he could and he flicked his tongue, torturously teasing me.

“Oh God-fuck, Richard-Jesus that’s so good” I hissed between gritted teeth as my hands buried themselves in his hair, tugging tightly but no enough to hurt him.

Richard then continuously began to suck, his lips wrapped tightly around my clit, whilst licking at the same time which sent me into overdrive. I clenched the sheets as I started to grind onto his face trying to gain more friction, the more I grinded the more pleasure I gained. I was reaching my climax, I lost all control as I pushed him even further onwards, grinding against his mouth uncontrollably until the knot in my stomach burst into waves of ecstasy.

“Jesus Christ Richard, fuck me!” I screamed as I started to slow down.

Richard crawled upwards and kissed me again, as he positioned himself to enter into me. He held his hand up to my face.

“Spit” He demanded, and I mustered up as much as I could and spat into his hand.

He used his other hand to dispose of the towel, then moved his hand lathered in my saliva to his erect member and started pumping himself, his eye rolled back in utter pleasure.

“God, somehow it feels so much better like this” He groaned.

I pushed Richard back onto the bed and took his cock into my mouth instantaneously, sucking desperately. Richard did seem taken aback by this at first but then he started to enjoy it.

“Oh wow-fuck me Hazel-that’s so good don’t stop” He placed a hand into my hair and guided me up and down his shaft. I went faster and faster until I was stopped.

“Don’t, s-save it Hazel not yet, I want to come inside you” He managed to push me off and have me lay flat on the bed.

Richard positioned himself yet again for entrance, and in one smooth thrust, he was inside me. He started off slow and steady but soon became quicker and harder with his thrusts, making us both moan and groan. I encouraged him by moving my hips to meet his thrusts, creating an even bigger impact when he hit the right spot, I wanted Richard to come, and I wanted him to come hard, so I started moaning loudly and spurred him on with any dirty talk I could think of. He thrusted harder and harder each time.

“Fuck me Richard, God I’m going to-“

“Yes, yes come on do it for me, come for me now” He said through heavy breathing.

Finally, me and Richard came hard, our bodies rocked spasms of ecstasy as we began to slow down. Beads of sweat on our foreheads, Richards’s skin still hot and slick from the shower. Our breathing slowed, and we lay beside each other in bed. After a few minutes of catching our breath, we held each other, Richard kissing my temple as I drifted away into sleep.

“Thank you Richard” I whispered.

“For what?” Richard questioned.

“I needed that” I flickered a smile towards him as I closed my eyes.

“You’re most bloody welcome darling” He lightly chuckled.


End file.
